IAWC asks what council’s real motivation is in takeover

MOORESVILLE – Should Mooresville engage in a hostile takeover of a privately owned water company? If the response at a community meeting held last month by Indiana American Water Company is any indication of the public’s stance on the Mooresville Town Council’s planned government takeover of Indiana American Water’s Mooresville system, you have to wonder: What is the council’s real motivation? Out of the 80 or so residents who attended the Sept. 20 event, only a former town council member spoke in favor of the council’s plans. Many of the remaining attendees spoke adamantly about their opposition to a government takeover of the water system and their dissatisfaction with how the town council has operated the community’s sewer system.

There was also much said about the way the town council has handled information on the takeover. Many customers at the meeting gave us numerous compliments regarding their water service. We greatly appreciate those compliments. Customer satisfaction is something all of our employees put first in their daily interactions.

The town council in August authorized moving forward through the government’s power of eminent domain to take over the Mooresville water system, a private company owned by Indiana American Water. This includes hiring appraisers, consultants and lawyers and paying for it with your tax dollars. Ultimately, continued pursuit of acquiring the water system through government’s power of eminent domain will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. It will take many years, and it will divide the community. The only notice the council provided to residents prior to the “public hearing” on the issue was a small legal notice placed in the Mooresville Times. Not only that, if you did show up to speak, the council asked you to comment before they even explained what they were considering and why, and then they closed the public hearing and made their case — with no opportunity for the public to ask questions or comment afterwards.

In a newspaper article that ran the day before our community meeting on Sept. 20, council president George Watkins was quoted as saying that the council has no plans for any future public forums on the issue and that residents would “hear from the council” in regular meetings and through announcements. Attempts by citizens to be placed on the council’s agenda on the issue have been rebuffed. The town council says the issue is about rates and supporting economic development in the area — a claim that rings hollow when you consider that annualized sewer rates, under the town’s control, have risen much more dramatically than local water rates in the last decade. In fact, the town raised your sewer rates by 98 percent in 2010. IAWC has actually decreased your water rates in two of the last four rate cases it filed in the past decade. And water service from Indiana American Water is still a great value at less than a penny a gallon.

You should also be concerned about the town’s record in operating its sewer system. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has issued four major sewer violations for the town’s sewer system in the last decade. In contrast, Indiana American Water has a spotless compliance record in Mooresville, and IAWC’s national record of compliance is 26 times better than the industry average.

As you may have read in the local newspaper last week, the legal process is already underway. IAWC filed suit against the town council over concerns about due process, access to public records related to the town’s activities and what the council appropriately has access to as a part of the appraisal process and other matters.

IAWC has worked hard since purchasing the Mooresville system in 2000 to upgrade its facilities here and to provide excellent customer service at an affordable rate. At the same time, we’ve held the line on expenses to keep rates as low as possible. IAWC’s size and purchasing power gives it a huge advantage over the town council when purchasing goods and services, again helping to keep rates low.

Many at our community meeting pledged to organize and fight this government takeover. We applaud their efforts and will do what we can to help support them. We urge you to get involved and make your voice heard as well. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The government is us; we are the government, you and I.”Even looking beyond the costs and the fact that an eminent domain takeover will ultimately increase rates and your taxes, resulting in the loss of more than $50,000 in annual property taxes paid by Indiana American Water, there is just something fundamentally wrong with what the town council is doing. This country was founded on the principle that government’s powers should be limited. If this takeover is successful, you have to ask yourself: Who is the next target?

Alan DeBoy, president, Indiana American WaterMooresville

Editor’s noteThe town’s legal council for the water takeover is J. Christopher Janak responded to IAWC’s lawsuit. He said that the town has provided more than 2,000 documents, and he has invited IAWC officials to meet with them on several occasions. Town council president George Watkins said at a public meeting last week that no tax money can be used to pay for the water purchase. The town also has government authority to purchase the system from a private owner. “It is unfortunate that Indiana American has chosen to file what appears to be a frivolous and untimely complaint. While I expect that the town is disappointed in this course of action, IAWC has already expressed that it has no intention of complying with Indiana law and will instead spend its ratepayer funds in an attempt to force the town to incur expenses unnecessarily and drive a wedge in the community. Indiana American seeks to scare town officials and the community and divert attention away from the fact that its rates for Mooresville residential and industrial customers have increased and will continue to increase at an alarming rate.”

Published October 10th, 2012 in The Reporter Times